Question 69·Hard·Central Ideas and Details
In a recent analysis of trans-Saharan trade, historian Lara Nellis argues that camel caravans were less a response to the lure of distant luxury goods than a strategy devised by desert communities to stabilize an otherwise volatile local economy. Merchants, she claims, often returned with half-empty saddlebags, insisting that their profits arose chiefly from charging protection fees and sharing navigational expertise with newer caravans. In Nellis’s view, the harsh desert itself—in all its danger—was deliberately converted into a commodity.
Based on the passage, which choice best captures Nellis’s central claim about the camel caravans?
For central-idea questions, paraphrase the passage’s overall claim in your own words, paying special attention to contrast language like “less…than” or “rather than.” Then pick the option that matches that main emphasis without adding new causes/effects or turning a supporting detail into the main point.
Hints
Focus on the comparison in the first sentence
Reread the first sentence and focus on “less … than ….” Which idea is being downplayed, and which idea is emphasized as the main explanation?
Ask how the caravans made their profits
Find where the passage explains what merchants claim their profits came from. Is it mostly from goods, or from something else?
Connect “converted into a commodity” to the profit source
If the desert’s danger was “converted into a commodity,” what would merchants be selling or charging for?
Eliminate choices that shift the author’s emphasis
Cross out choices that make luxury goods the main motivation, or that add unstated claims like broad unprofitability, “repeated losses,” or an “unintentional” origin.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the question is asking
The question asks for the statement that best captures Nellis’s central claim. That means you need the main point of the whole passage, not a single detail.
Identify Nellis’s main contrast
In the first sentence, Nellis says caravans were “less a response to the lure of distant luxury goods than a strategy devised by desert communities to stabilize an otherwise volatile local economy.” This contrast signals that the main emphasis is on local economic strategy, not primarily on luxury-goods trade.
Use the profit description to confirm the claim
The passage adds that merchants often returned with “half-empty saddlebags” and claimed profits came chiefly from charging protection fees and sharing navigational expertise. This supports the idea that money came from services tied to desert danger, not mainly from selling transported goods.
Select the choice that matches the central claim
Choose the option that states caravans were primarily an economic strategy for desert communities to earn income by providing protection/navigation services rather than focusing on trading goods: Caravans emerged primarily as an economic mechanism for desert communities to earn income by providing services rather than trading goods.